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Short rods and long rods both have pros and cons, but with experience, you'll end up with more pros than cons with a long rod. My opinion is that a person will never be able to cast as far with a short rod, but they're more accurate. With a long rod and some practice, you'll be able to cast just as accurately as you would with a short rod, and you'll have that extra distance and the ability to pick up more line on hooksets. I like the 7'-7'4" range personally. I see no advantage of rods under 7' for bass fishing, even for skipping.

Dobyns 735C and 766C, both with Revo STX reels spooled with 50 lb. PowerPro. The 735C is a fine jig rod, too.

I prefer fishing for bass over the other local species because of how abundant they are, and the wide variety of tactic used to catch them. I don't plan on eating the fish I catch, so that plays into it, too. I really like the fact that there are so many walleye and panfish anglers around here, and sometimes the bass are overlooked.

Yo Zuri Hybrid is my line of choice for many of my setups. Probably the best overall line I've ever used. I use 10-12# for BC, and 6# for spinning. It's not as sensitive as 100% fluorocarbon though. It doesn't transmit the slack line bites nearly as well. That's where fluorocarbon shines.

Detecting bites with a C-Rig is not always easy, especially in when the bottom is rocky. Many times, it's a "When in doubt, set the hook" situation.

One of my favorite baits is a Rage Craw with two ribs trimmed off that's rigged on a jig like a chunk.

Sebile Magic Swimmers. They're Northern Pike magnets for me, and thats all.

Orange and red highlights can trigger bites sometimes. The best example for me has been red flakes in soft plastics and orange bellies on jerkbaits. It can make a huge difference. Orange nail polish on the belly is a good little trick for crankbaits. Careful, it can throw the action off on some jerkbaits, like the Pointer 78. Orange or red Sharpie marker on the underside of white soft jerks/flukes is another useful mod for river smallie fishing.

Profile, fall rate, water clarity/line diameter, and level of weedlessness would be the main factors for me when deciding between these two lures. Sometimes the bass prefer the larger profile jigs over plastics. Even the chunkiest tube doesn't have the large profile of a bass jig with 4" trailer, and a Texposed Texas rigged flipping tube doesn't compare to a jigs snag resistance. How do you rig your tubes?

I can't stand Skrillex, but that was synced up really well.

About half of them, sometimes more. That includes two or three rods rigged with a jig and craw.

I'm done after the firearm deer hunting season, which ran from November 5 - 13 this year. After that, the water is around 40 degrees and there's likely snow on the ground. I get my fill fishing 6 days a week from Memorial Day opener until Halloween. I'd like to fish a little slower pace (3-5 days a week) throughout the entire year like those in the southern states, but in MN that would mean ice fishing. Talk about boring!

There are deeper divisions in the UFC, but this is BY FAR the best the UFC HW division has ever been. Now with the addition of Alistair Overeem, it continues to improve. There's also a wildcard out there, Fedor, probably the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter of all time. Even though he's looked extremely rusty since the collapse of PRIDE FC in Japan, who's to say he doesn't have a few good fights left in him? Despite the past drama between him and Dana, I wouldn't be surprised if he were willing to sign with the UFC now since his stock is so low. I think being able to compete regularly might get him back in his groove. At the very least, he could get a few more paychecks and the UFC could sell a bunch of PPVs.

I'll remember Frazier for the body shots that lifted opponents off their feet a few inches.

This jig was featured is Bassmaster recently. The author wrote that the jig's designer was losing 4 out of every 5 fish on regular football jigs in deep water, so he designed the break-away head design to prevent the bass from shaking the jig free. Has anybody here ever had problems losing 80% of their fish of football jigs? It happens occasionally when a bass shakes it's head with a 3/4-1 oz jig in it's mouth, but 80% sounds WAY overblown to me. 2-5% is more reasonable I think.

I prefer light wire hooks and spinning gear for Senkos, both wacky and Texas rigged, so I don't set the hook very hard. Just a reel set is all I need.

I tried an experiment this year, going a full season with 15 and 17 lb. Trilene 100% on two heavily used jig/pitching rods. I planned on using the line as long as I could just to see how it would react, and I figured at some point I would have to replace the line once it started breaking unexpectedly. To my surprise, I never broke off a single time that wasn't Northern Pike related. The rods stay in the boat locker during the entire season and it stays a little more humid in there than I would like, but they never really get too hot. I used an Improved Clinch knot and treated the line with KVD Line and Lure about every third or fourth trip.

With two stud running backs on the roster, Palmer should get used to being less of a factor than he was in Cinci. He doesn't need to air it out all the time anymore, just manage the game and provide some stability.

I have to admit, I'm really bad about using sunscreen. I never get sunburned, so I rarely use it, except for my nose, upper cheeks, and ears. I love the feel of the sun on me. It makes me feel strong and full of energy. I'll need to reconsider before it's too late. I'm not that young anymore.

I personally think that the right rod is as important, if not more important, than the right jig head. A rod with enough power in the tip 12" will be able to pop just about any jig free of weeds, even football heads. Generally, any kind of bullet shaped head on a stout rod will work just fine in the weeds.

Is anybody else surprised that this gimmicky looking thing actually works?

They will twist up your line if fished weightless with any speed at all. I like to fish them on Sworming Hornet jigheads, and when they get a little torn up, they get trimmed down a little and used as swim jig or chatterbait trailers.

They are my least favorite Academy crankbait. The two I have tend to roll badly at even a medium speed. I also have Red Eye Shads that do that, so maybe mine are just dud baits. I've heard of lipless cranks that roll because some of the ball bearings used as rattles got caught in the glue when the bait was manufactured, and it threw the bait off-kilter.

Copper or amber work really well in low light. They are the most useful all-around lens color for bass fishing, IMO. I believe strongly in keeping some sort of eyewear on at all times when bass fishing, especially when you're not alone. It may save you from a hook in the eye.

At that price, you can't go wrong.